By IANS
Panaji : The Congress has chosen Digambar Kamat, the once powerful minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to head its new government in the coastal state of Goa.
Kamat, 53, a businessman and real estate developer who represents Margao in the 40-member assembly, will be sworn in as Goa's 15th chief minister Friday. Four legislators will also take their oath as ministers.
The decision to nominate Kamat as chief minister was a surprise one. Till Thursday evening, OBC (other backward classes) leader Ravi Naik and five-time former chief minister Pratapsinh Rane were thought to be the favourites for the post.
The Congress won 19 seats in the 40-member assembly along with its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) got 14.
It was clearly not an easy decision with party leaders from New Delhi huddled with legislators trying to hammer out a consensus candidate. It was also announced at one stage that the decision had been left to the party leadership.
Kamat takes over from Rane, who served as chief minister for five terms and dominated politics here for the entire decade of the 1980s.
Goa's new Congress chief minister began his political career as a member of the Congress but left to join the BJP. Till a couple of years ago, he was the second most powerful man in the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government in Goa, a state that has seen politicians repeatedly change sides.
In February 2005, the departure of Kamat from BJP – at a time when the party had lost power in New Delhi too – brought the party virtually to its knees. The BJP tried to pull Kamat back but he said he was "free to take any decision".
Kamat has been a legislator since 1994. He has been Goa's longest serving power minister and also held other portfolios like mining. Like many Goa politicians, he is connected with local sports bodies, particularly cricket and badminton.
Kamat hails from the influential but small Saraswat Brahmin community. He is the second chief minister from the community after Parrikar.
The Congress decision to select him reflects the complex tug-of-war nature of Goa politics, attempts by political parties to weigh options among different groupings, and the jostling for power among senior politicians.